Sarah Silverman tweets support for Meretz

In The Canadian Jewish News this week, experts weigh in on whom they believe Israelis will choose as their next prime minister March 17.

American comedian Sarah Silverman, meanwhile, took to her Twitter account yesterday and tweeted to her followers that if any of them are Meretz supporters, Israel's left-wing social democratic party, they must get out to their local voting station next week to keep the party afloat in the Knesset.

Founded in 1992, Meretz won 12 seats in the election that year to establish itself as the third-largest party in the country, joining the coalition led by then-prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. In the years since, the party has struggled to hold on to its presence in Israel's Parliament, winning only three seats in 2008, but doubling its representation to six two years ago.

Silverman's tweet reads as follows "ISRAEL! If you are a Meretz supporter you NEED to VOTE MARCH 17. Every vote counts. If you don’t vote, you can’t complain.”

Though Silverman is known for her liberal politics, another reason behind her social media outcry may be the fact her sister, Rabbi Susan Silverman, is a Meretz candidate, albeit a bit of a long shot, as she's No. 20 on the party list, and with Meretz's electoral track record, it seems rather unlikely she'll be voted in.

The party needs a minimum of 3.25 per cent of the vote (or approximately four seats) to gain representation in the next Knesset, making its future uncertain.